EVENTS WHILE GUARDING THE BOFORS GUN Finborough Theatre

John McGrath, an enthusiastic socialist, who died in 2002 at the age of 67, was a prolific writer, director and producer in theatre, television and film. He founded the 7.84 company. (7% of the nation owned 84% of the country’s wealth.) The Bofors Gun, premiered in 1966, was based on his experiences whilst he was doing his national service and is as anti-military as Willis Hall’s The Long and the Short and the Tall (1959) and Arnold Wesker’s Chips with Everything (1962). An 18-year-old ex-grammar school boy in 1954 is doing his national service in Germany and has just been made an NCO. He is in charge of a guard whose duty is to protect an obsolete anti-aircraft gun which has not been used in 12 years. Their task is utterly futile. The men have rifles but no ammunition. The squad is unruly and the NCO is totally out of his depth. There’s a terrific performance by Charles Aitken, which should grab the attention of casting directors. He plays a manic and suicidal Irish gunner, who needs to be locked up immediately. It’s a big flashy role and he and Robert Hastie’s gripping ensemble production deserve a transfer to a bigger theatre.